Assignment 3.2: Determining Causes and Effects – Revised Version

Stress in College Students (Drafted Version)

Name

Professor :

Class

Date:

Stress in College Students

The life of a college student is greatly marked with a high incidence of stress occurrence. However, not all college students suffer from stress. The stress response depends on personal readiness to cope with the demands of the situation and the situation itself to which one refers. That is, how an individual responds to stressful events depends on both the personal disposition of the person and the situation in which these events happen. Claiming that a college student is suffering from stress or say one is not suffering is of questionable utility for its generality. With the development of this paper, one come to acknowledge more comprehensive academic stress levels experienced by college students, both having to do with the particular situations favor its appearance such as in situations that cause reactions in individuals.

One of the most widely studied factors related to stress in colleges has been linked to the transition from pre-university level to the university world. The change or transition from one environment to another are common features life, however, in most cases, these changes are associated with stress and even can have adverse effects on some powerful people, affecting their personal well-being and overall health. In this regard, there are well-known scholars ready to demonstrate the incidence of academic stress on health issues. These changes are indicators of depression of the immune system and, therefore, a greater body vulnerability to disease. Other work confirm changes in the immune response associated with academic stress, in this case, evidenced by low T cell activity and response to mitogens.

Sometimes, students tend to have a very high level of stress that can cause serious physical problems and diseases. Furthermore, most of the underlying causes stress in student’s, are related to activities of the academic area. For example, a survey conducted on a hundred students from different races in their first and second semester, revealed that the five most stressful events were: failing to understand the teachers, boring classes, having many things to do, suffering from the desire to deliver jobs and projects and trying to do well in college. The accumulation of all these causes with many other similar student issues created an atmosphere of tense and exhausting work, where depletion is becoming evident.

Likewise, stress affects not only physically, but also makes one emotionally and psychologically imbalanced. It is normal for a person with feelings to react to stress. But then again when these emotions are more intense, and reactions become abnormal, they indicate a very high level of stress. The more exaggerated the response of a person with a stressful situation, the higher the stress levels will be noted. There are many cases that are seen daily in the college environment that reflect these attitudes. For example, when a student suddenly feel anxiety because they say the next class has an exam, or when they feel angry because they talk to their friends and do not answer, or even when mad at them over trifles and things of small importance, or just when they feel fear because they are accused of something they did not commit. Similarly, there are other warning signs of stress, among which one can mention the feeling of failure, loss of confidence, sadness, guilt, frustration, indecision, unrest and even thoughts of death and loss of interest in life. Arguably, these psychological effects can be the classic symptoms of stress or mental illness. That's true, although it might be thought that in some cases that mental illness is an extreme emotional response to stress. Finally, it is noted that such reactions can lead the student to take fateful decisions that affect them in their academic work.

Stress can influence the economic life of an individual. According to the research, this continuous exposure to stress often leads to diseases such as depression, headaches, dyspepsia, palpitations, loss of appetite and muscle aches. The origin of these conditions is that when faced with a stressful situation, the brain, and the body responds by only increasing the production of certain hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. These cause changes in heart rate, blood pressure, metabolism and physical activity. The worst part is that as time progresses and if appropriate measures are not taken, these chronic diseases may turn to the point where they can no longer be controlled, and one has to resort to a specialist for treatment.

All the effects of stress are reflected in the life of the student. If one does not have a proper stress management, this can cause the student's performance to deteriorate. The following is a hypothetical case where the effects of stress are shown: Nicholas, a student of Economics and International Business must take the final exam of a course called Algebra and Functions. On the other hand, he fails the course and, therefore, must repeat the test for one more time. He has been studying a whole week to pass. At the time of examination, he feels very nervous, has stomach crunches, his pulse accelerates, he has sweaty hands, his mouth gets dry, feels like going to the bathroom and his heart beats rapidly. Nicholas presents the test in these conditions. Later he will claim the test results and realize that he has failed, and that should do this course again if he wants to become a professional. Why did he fail the test considering that he had had an excellent preparation? The answer is simple: stress. If Nicholas had controlled his anxiety and felt reassured when sitting for his exam, chances are he could easily have done it without any mental block, remembering everything studied and maybe would have passed. Mishandling of a stressful situation can have far-reaching implications for the training of a person. Admittedly, this might have happened to many students. It is also for the simple reason of not knowing how to control their stress.

Assignments, papers, exams, meetings, interviews, commitments, events, outings with friends, are events that a college student performs consistently throughout their learning process. Each of these activities can be a source of stress in the life of a college student along with many more. However, most important of all these pressures are the consequences that this phenomenon brings in students' lives. The stress affects many areas of a college student’s life either, academic, physical or psychological hence the need to comprehend its nature.